It’s Rome or bust for Lowell students

A group of Lowell High School students nearly had to say arrivederci to their long-planned trip to Italy and the $5,000 each they had paid to get there after their tour operator jilted them.

The 23 students have been studying Italian and planning for the biannual trip since freshmen year, district officials said.

They thought everything was all set, with a previously used East Coast company, European Institute, making all the arrangements for the 17-day tour.

Less than three weeks before the June 3 departure parents and school staff could no longer reach the company. Pleas to the Massachusettes attorney general and Better Business Bureau failed to get a response.

The students had no money, no tickets, no trip, said school board member Hydra Mendoza.

Mendoza and others reached out to the Italian consulate, Lowell alumni and others to see if anyone would step up to help.

WorldStrides, a company that arranges student travel, then stepped in to fix things, covering costs and last-minute arrangements.

“Many of the kids chose to take Italian because of this trip and have been saving/looking forward to it since freshman year, or in some cases, eighth grade,” said their teacher Judy Branzburg. “Some have worked, others have asked that their birthday, Christmas presents, etc., be contributions toward the trip.”

The students will get 11 days in Italy rather than the original 17, Mendoza said, but they will get to paddle around Venice, lean into Pisa and presumably get their fill of pasta.

And after saying buon viaggio to their kids this week, their parents are expected to pursue legal action against the original tour operator.